Photographer's Note

"Palenque was the city where stuccowork reached its highest development, and the tablets in various parts of the palace.... are the finest examples of this plastic art in the entire Maya area. Take for example two panels... (See previous upload for Palace - XX, also.) Note the beautiful molding of the figures and their graceful postures; the masterly modeling of the feet and arms in the left panel and the right-hand figure in the right panel; the rich yet restrained treatment of costume details - sandals, jade-bead skirt, feather headdresses, belts, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, and elaborate garters; the handsome throne in the left panel; and the decorative bases and borders in both panels. Nothing finer in stucco was ever produced in ancient America than that at Palenque, and its supremacy in this field is unchallenged."